Morning: SOROKHAIBAM IBOMCHA’S BRIDAL DRESS WORKSHOP

We go to Moirang Leirak, by the once beautiful Nambol River. Now there is too much garbage. I hear Yoshiko has been asking about the garbage here, the plastic bags, the urban pollution. She not only sees but also cares enough to ask.

Zette's potloi is lovely. A little absurd really, a sequined drum, but lovely. I think Zette is pleased.

I had asked Ibomcha to leave it a little unfinished so that she may see him at work a bit. He names all the design elements – fig seed, lotus petal, the bee, clover – and Teja videotapes. We hope to produce a 5-minute looper for the Wedding Dress show next May.

The potloi is scarlet raw silk and not in saton, as Manipuris call satin. The border is not the contemporary the phanek bee design, but the original brass disks. The blouse is silk too, not the usual velvet. My mother has been advising to ensure the authenticity of design. Well, that’s a tricky term, but we think that this design will be as illuminating to Manipuris as to New Jerseyans. Now that’s a concept I’d like to mull over a bit more.